Crewe
Alexandra
Formed 1877
Founder member of Division Two 1892. Failed re-election 1896.
Founder member of Division Three (North) 1921
Kit History
1877-1884 o r
1884-1886 a r
1886-1887 a
1887-1896 e r
1898-1899 m
1901-1902 a
1904-1905 m
1905-1909 a l m
1909-1910 a l
1910-1921 a
1922-1923 a
1923-1924 a
1924-1931
1931-1937 a d j
1939 m
1946-1947 m
1947-1948 a
1948-1949 j
1949-1951 a j
1953-1955 m
1955-1956 m j
1957-1959 m
1958-1959 k
1959-Jan 1961 a m
Jan-May 1961 a m
1961-Spring 1963 m
Spring 1963 a m
1963-1965 m
1965-1970 a m
1970-1971 a
1971-1972 early i
1971-1972 a
1972-1974 a
1974-1975 a l
1975-1976 early a l
1975-1976 mid a h
1976-1977 a l
1977-1980 a h l
1980-1981 l
1981-1982 a h
1982-1983 s
1983-1984 a f
1985-1986 a l
1986-1988 a
1988-1989 a l
1989-1990 a l
1990-1991 a g l q
1991-1992 a l q
1992-1993 a l q
1993-1994 a g l q
1994-1995 a g p q
1995-1996 a l q
1996-1997 a q
1997-1998 a q
1998-1999 b q
1999-2000 b g
2000-2001 c g l
2001-2002 b n
2002-2003 b
2003-2004 b
2004-2005 c g
2005-2006 c
2006-2007 c
2007-2008 c
2008-2009 c l
2009-2010 c
2010-2011 c
2011-2012 c
2012-2013 c
2013-2014 c
2014-2015 c
2015-2016 c
2016-2017 c
2017-2018 c
2018-2019 c
2019-2020 c
2020-2021 c
2021-2022 c
2022-2023 c
2023-2024 c
2024-2025 c
Background
The club was formed as an adjunct
to the local cricket club in 1877 and was named for the Alexandra public
house, which provided the club's first base. (The pub was itself named
for the Princess Alexandra, one of Queen Victoria's daughters.) Their first colours were "blue and white," most probably hooped jerseys worn with whatever colour knickers the players could provide. These remained their colours until they turned professional and certainly they wore red and white in the Welsh Cup in 1885-86.
In 1889 the club joined the Football Alliance, rivals of the Football League. In 1892 the Alliance was incorporated into the League as Division Two. In four seasons, Alex had to apply for re-election three times and in 1896 they lost their place.
Records show that the club wore white shirts during their brief league career but reverted to red in 1901. The club usually described their colours as "scarlet and white" well into the 1970s.
After losing their place in the Football League, Alex competed in the Combination, Lancashire, Birmingham & District and Central Leagues before they returned to the Football League in 1921 as founder members of the new Division Three (North).
The Alex's League career was undistinguished to
say the least. Prior to the Second World War the club managed to finish
in sixth place three times (1922, 1923 and 1936). The situation did not
improve when 
organised football resumed after World War Two and Alex were
lucky to survive three consecutive re-elections (1956-58).
During the 1949-51 seasons, a crest was added to the shirts and it seems likely that this 
was the official club emblem, which dates from the 1880s.
The town's crest appeared on the team's shirts in the 1958-59 season.
1963 brought
the club's first promotion but this was followed by the disappointment
of immediate relegation. The same thing happened in 1968-69. In 1975 a crest was adopted and was used for the next 20 years. Featuring a a football surrounded 
by the club's name on a circular disc, it was surmounted by a lion holding a locomotive wheel, a motif borrowed from British Railways and celebrating the town's association with the railways.
Between 1978 and 1983 Crewe had to apply for re-election again four times in five seasons. The writing appeared to be on the wall.
In 1983 Dario Gradi was appointed manager. He consolidated
and gradually transformed the club into promotion contenders, In 1989,
the Alex were promoted to Division Three.
The crest was given a makeover in 1990 that gave the club's title greater prominence. The colours varied according to the background and the accent 
colour in use at the time.
In 1992 Alex dropped back into the basement but, after contesting the play offs in 1992 and 1993 they achieved automatic promotion in 1994.
In 1998 the crest was modified once more. The lion motif was retained but now without the locomotive wheel, perhaps reflecting the diminished state of Britain's railways. A digital version was introduced a year late that appeared out of a white lozenge.
The next three seasons
Crewe contested the play-offs again and in 1997 they were 
promoted to
Nationwide Division One (now the second tier). There followed five seasons
in the second flight before relegation in 2002. The club bounced back
immediately but in 2006 they were again relegated.
From 2005-06 the crest was embroidered directly onto the team shirts with the name in 
gold or black embroidery.
While the club's achievements may be modest, the consistency of the board's approach must be acknowledged. In 2007, Dario Gradi was appointed Technical Director, having become the longest serving manager in the Football League after 24 years in sole charge. He had a second spell as manager between 2009 and 2011.
In 2017 the 1995 version of the team crest was revived.
Two seasons after being promoted to League One, Crewe suffered a disasterous season in 2021-22 and remained rooted to the bottom of the table throughout. They were relegated eight points adrift of AFC Wimbledon who also went down.
Sources
- (a) Crewe Alexandra FC (Images of Sport) Harold Finch 2001
- (b) empics
- (c) Crewe Alexandra Official Website
- (d) The Football Encyclopaedia (Associated Sporting Press 1934) - information provided by Arthur Fergus
- (e) Association of Football Statisticians - provided by Pete Wyatt
- (f) Jason Barnes
- (g) David King
- (h) Alick Milne
- (i) Little Oaks Football Cards
- (j) Simon Monks
- (k) Keith Ellis
- (l) Christopher Worrall
- (m) Bob Bickerton
- (n) Oleg Baranov
- (o) Staffordshire Sentinel (Jan 1911) found by Lee Gauntlett
- (p) @mt1206
- (q) oldfootballshirts.com
- (r) Charles Alcock's Football Annuals 1869-1891 researched by Robin Horton
- (s) eBay submitted by Mark Alton
Crests are the property of Crewe Alexandra FC.